Market Commentary 11/17/2008
The Markets
Wall Street continued its dramatic swings last week. The Dow charted its third-largest single session point gain Thursday with a 550-point rally. Hedge fund selling accounted for some of the downturn, as funds liquidated assets to meet the 45-day notice for investor withdrawal requests by year-end. The Dow closed the week down 4.87 percent to 8.497.31. The S&P lost 6.11 percent to close the week at 873.29, and the NASDAQ fell 7.92 percent to finish the week at 1,516.85.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
Trade Deficit Drop - The U.S. trade deficit dropped by 4.4 percent in September to $56.5 billion, Read more…
Market Commentary 11/10/2008
The Markets
Wall Street enjoyed a record Election Day rally on Tuesday with the Dow and S&P both up more than 3 percent and the NASDAQ up more than 4 percent. The Labor Department unemployment report of 240,000 lost jobs came in lower than Goldman Sachs’ estimate of 300,000 but higher than the median forecast of 200,000. Investors will have more economic data to digest this week with readings on the labor market and trade deficit due Thursday and the October retail sales index coming out Friday. For last week, the Dow ended down 3.93 percent to 8,943.81. The S&P lost 3.78 percent to close the week at 930.99, and the NASDAQ lost 4.27 percent to finish the week at 1,647.40.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
Medicare Open Enrollment - Open enrollment for Medicare begins Nov. 15 and continues through Dec. 31, 2008. Read more…
Market Commentary 11/3/2008
The Markets
The Dow had its best week in 34 years last week, gaining 11.31 percent. On Tuesday, the Dow recorded its second highest daily gain on record, jumping 889 points in anticipation of the Federal Reserve rate cut. Wednesday the Fed came through with half a percentage point cut, lowering to 1 percent the rate that banks charge on overnight loans. The Dow ended the week at 9,325.01, and the S&P gained 10.53 percent to close the week at 968.75. The NASDAQ rose 10.88 percent to finish the week at 1,720.95.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
More Planes, Autos - U.S. orders for big-ticket manufactured items experienced its largest gain in three months during September September on demand for airplanes and cars. Read more…
Market Commentary 10/27/2008
The Markets
Declines in global markets and some disappointing third-quarter corporate earnings reports took the markets lower last week. The Federal Reserve meets this week in its last session before the presidential election. Economists expect the Fed to drop its rate a quarter to a half percentage point. This would reduce the prime rate, which banks and credit card companies charge consumers, to 4.25 percent or 4 percent, depending on the depth of the cut. For the week, the Dow lost 5.31 percent to finish at 8,378.95. The S&P fell 6.76 percent to 876.77, and the NASDAQ declined 9.31 percent to close the week at 1,552.03.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
Drop Of Oil - On Wednesday, oil hit its lowest price in 16 months, dropping to $66.75. Read more…
Market Commentary 10/20/2008
The Markets
The major indexes found positive ground last week after dropping precipitously the week prior. Trading see-sawed throughout the week as the markets sought an end to the decline. The Dow finished the week up 4.79 percent to 8,852.22. The S&P gained 4.61 percent to end the week at 940.55, and the NASDAQ added 3.75 percent to close the week at 1,711.29.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
Improved Social Life - About 50 million Social Security recipients will get a 5.8 percent bump in benefits beginning in January 2009, Read more…
Market Commentary 10/13/2008
The Markets
Trading activity on Friday showed that at least some investors believe the markets to be near a bottom, after one of the most volatile weeks in Wall Street history. Down 468 points at 3 p.m., the Dow jumped 790 points to +322 points just after 3:30 p.m. before a round of profit taking brought it down to close at -128 points. For the week, the Dow lost 18.09 percent to end at 8,451.49. The S&P lost 18.14 percent to finish the week at 899.22, and the NASDAQ dropped 15.30 percent to close the week at 1,649.51.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
Let’s Go Out To Dinner - Americans spend $1.5 billion a day at restaurants and bars (Source: National Restaurant Association, BTN Research). Read more…
Market Commentary 10/6/2008
The Markets
The week that began with the House rejecting a plan for the government to buy the bad assets weighing down banks and other financial institutions ended with the House approving a sweetened package passed by the Senate. The markets experienced dramatic drops Monday when the first bill failed, then fluctuated throughout the week waiting for Congress’ next move. The Dow ended the week down 7.30 percent to close at 10,325.38. The S&P fell 9.34 percent to finish the week at 1,099.23, and the NASDAQ lost 10.81 percent to end the week at 1,947.39.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
Rebate Expiration Date - Oct. 15, 2008, is the deadline to file a 2007 tax return for those who requested an extension. It is also the deadline for filing a 2007 return to receive an economic stimulus payment. Read more…
Market Commentary 9/29/2008
The Markets
Wall Street ended a tumultuous week with gains on Friday, but the major indexes were down for the week as attention focused on efforts by Congress to stabilize the nation’s financial markets. The Dow ended the week down 2.13 percent to 11,143.13. The S&P lost 3.32 percent to close the week at 1,213.27, and the NASDAQ dropped 3.98 percent to finish the week at 2,183.34.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
Voting Booth - The greatest percentage participation by Americans in any presidential election dating back to 1932 took place during the 1960 race between Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard Nixon. Read more…
Market Commentary 9/22/2008
The Markets
Following two weeks of unprecedented change, Wall Street continued to recover Friday on news that the government plans to assist banks and money market funds. The Dow collectively gained about 780 points Thursday and Friday but still closed the week down 0.27 percent to 11,388.44. The S&P added 0.30 percent to end the week at 1,255.08, and the NASDAQ climbed 0.56 percent to finish the week at 2,273.90.
Source: Morningstar.com. * Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Three and five-year returns are annualized. The S&P, excluding “1 Week” returns, is a reflection of return to an investor, by reinvesting dividends after the deduction of withholding tax.
On Hold - On Tuesday, Sept. 16, the Federal Reserve voted unanimously to leave short-term interest rates unchanged at 2 percent, despite the Dow dropping 504 points the day before. Read more…
Special Market Commentary - September 15, 2008
By Doug Fehr, CFA, Director of Investment Research, Securities America
Dear Valued Client,
In a turn of events sure to make history, on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008, Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, while Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself to Bank of America for approximately $50 billion. Meanwhile, American International Group has sought $40 billion from the Federal Reserve, and other familiar companies are being placed on watch lists.
It may be difficult to find the silver lining in all of this. Read more…